An idiosyncratic literary tour round English parks and gardens

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Leeds Castle – in Kent, not Yorkshire as some people apparently think – is justly proud of Lord Conway’s comment that it is the ‘loveliest castle in the whole world’. It’s origin dates from 1119, and has been the home to six queens – Eleanor of Castile, Margaret of France, Isabella of France, Anne of Bohemia, Joan of Navarre, Catherine de Valois. Another queen, Catherine of Aragon was a regular visitor.

‘…among the waters on an autumnal evening when the bracken is golden and there is a faint blue mist among the trees…’ Lord Conway also says.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that water paid such a large part in my visit to Leeds Castle, not just because of the water features in the park but because it seems to have done little else but rain recently. The weather has its advantages though. The parklands around the castle glistened and glowed, like a teenager tossing back freshly washed shiny shiny long hair.

And the sounds. Rushing and tapping and gurgling and … honking.

Forget the famous queens, it seemed to me that it’s the waterbirds that rule Leeds Castle today. I tried to walk sternly past them, but the couple behind me screamed and threw all the food they had purchased at the entrance just to make a getaway. These geese meant business.

Given their very obvious sense of entitlement, I wasn’t surprised to learn that birds are a deliberate feature in the garden. The most recent ‘lady’ of Leeds Castle was Olive, Lady Baillie, who left the castle to the Leeds Castle Foundation when she died in 1974. She loved birds of all kinds, and developed part of the parkland as an ideal environment for waterfowl. She also introduced the black swan, the symbol of the castle, to the United Kingdom, importing them from Australia.

She seems like quite a woman. During her time at Leeds Castle, it was a centre of parties and innovation. She built the first wave swimming pool in the grounds, turned the gatehouse into a squash court (now a dog collar museum!), and a cinema in the Maiden’s Tower. Not surprisingly, it became the place to visit, and as I walked round, I tried to picture some of the guests over the years here… Noel Coward, Errol Flynn, Edward and Mrs Simpson, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, and David Niven who would apparently desert his fellow guests to play cards with the servants. I bet they made a few trips down to the wine cellar too.

But during the second world war, like many grand houses, the castle opened itself up to other ‘guests’. It was used for secret meetings with senior military figures, but continuing the female theme, was mostly a centre for the VADs (Voluntary Aid Detachments). Then, as a military hospital and convalescent home for airmen, when during the Battle of Britain some arrived still harnessed to their parachutes.

Here’s a statue of Florence Nightingale, still looking after the castle in memory of that time.

But it was another group of visitors I was interested in, the so-called ‘guinea pigs’ – war burns survivors who had been treated by the pioneering plastic surgeon, Sir Archibald McIndoe, at nearby East Grinstead. I think this British Pathe News clip below must have been taken at the Queen Victoria Hospital although records show that reunions were held at Leeds Castle too.

RAF GUINEA CLUB

It is a coincidence obviously that, although much of the original furniture remains, there are so few mirrors in the castle. Instead every room I entered, every corridor I walked down, had windows which drew you to look out to the parkland beyond.

And even inside to another view of the castle.

These are from the ‘Gloriette’ where the Royal Rooms are. Gloriette is a Spanish term for a Moorish garden building, and indeed there was a Spanish feel to this part of the building. Maybe an influence from Eleanor of Castile?

In my mind, I followed their progress through the castle and into the library. I do hope one of them sat and read their way through these very British selection of books..

Or perhaps they got down the oldest book in the collection, Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, printed in 1638… look, the guide got it down for me to see! Sir Philip Sidney was, of course, the owner of nearby Penshurst Place. Perhaps it was a gift between neighbours.

It’s impossible, of course, to know what it must have been like for these men, getting used to their new faces and bodies in the loveliest castle in the world. I imagine the beauty must have helped.

And also a sense of durability, with trees such as this Cedar of Lebanon to rest against.

Later, I had a walk round the maze. On my own, thinking it would be easy. 2,400 yews, yes! Bring it on. A stroll in the park. I got lost at the first turn. And then again at the second. My heart started to pound like a cartoon character. I began searching for sticks and things I could wave over the top of the hedges because I wasn’t sure anyone had seen me go in. I tried to retrace my footsteps and got lost again.

I resorted to deep breathing. Tracking the footsteps in the mud to see which direction they were going.

And then just like that, I was out. And heading for the grotto as my treat. Two seconds later and I was cursing myself all over again for going in on my own. This is scary wonderful gothic stuff based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses…

And after that, I was ready for some light relief. Look, celebrities still come to Leeds:

Here’s the poem I wrote for the ‘Guinea pigs’ at Leeds Castle.

Narcissus

A work of art, the nurses call you,
the stitching on your cheek as fine
as tapestry. You’ll have me hanging
in the Gloriette, you play the castle fool,
but the rough stones under your fingers
could be a self-portrait, your hand a brush
paused on your chin before you remember why
the castle’s windows are angled for defence:
it’s important to keep looking out,
You head to the mirrored lake, reflections
are a maze you tiptoe through to reach
the heart, each glance becomes a needle
until finally you’re sewing a new picture.

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I'm delighted that my book on poetry, gardens and Kent is now available for order direct from the publishers, Cultured Llama.

Gardening writer, Lia Leendertz says of it: "On this poet’s garden tour, Sarah Salway writes of the gardens’ physical selves, of course, but also of the sensations they conjure, the memories they stir up and the glimpses of history that colour her perception. Each description is rich, layered, personal and moving. It is more like the way we all experience gardens than any garden writing I have come across."

SARAH SALWAY

During my year as Canterbury Laureate in 2012, I started to write a portrait of Kent through its gardens. It wasn't a botanical record or a 'how to' garden, but a creative personal response. I became fascinated with how the close focus of gardens brought in so many other things - history, landscape, cultural movement, personalities, and especially stories.

I've now extended this to gardens outside Kent, and even in art and music. This website records the poetry and stories I write, together with a little about my creative process.

I'll put up more gardens - and garden poems - as I go, but do click on 'Visit a Garden' to come on a virtual tour with me.

Please note that this are my original photographs and writing - if you would like to use any of it, please ask my permission first.